Apparatus for packing rectangular block-shaped articles



D. R. P. JACKSON Dec. 22, 1959 APPARATUS FOR PACKING RECTANGULARBLOCK-SHAPED ARTICLES 3 Shets-Sheet 1 Original Filed April 14, 1958INVENTIOR ya /4; W44 1* 5$; Y

Dec. 22, 1959 D. R. P. JACKSON 2,917,887

APPARATUS FOR PACKING RECTANGULAR BLOCK-SHAPED ARTICLES Original FiledApril 14, 1958 C 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /N VE N TOR WM ggqj 14 B a/m Dec. 22,1959 D. R. P. JACKSON 2,917,887

APPARATUS FOR PACKING RECTANGULAR BLOCK-SHAPED ARTICLES Original FiledApril 14, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lNVE/V TOR z/aiin 64 iM Max A TTORNE Y5United States atgm O APPARATUS FOR PACKING RECTANGULAR BLOCK-SHAPEDARTICLES Dona d Ri hard at k a k n, Deptford, London, n

land, assignor to Molins Machine Company Limited, London, England, aBritish company Original application April 14, 1958, Serial No. 723,173.Divided and this application May 18, 1959, Serial No. 813,883

. 1 Claim. ((11. 53-230) This application which is a division of myprior co: pending application Serial No. 728,173, filed April 14, l958,concerns improvements in apparatus for packing rectangular block-shapedarticles in cartons and is pri marily intended for packing numbers ofcigarette packets .it between upper and lower folding surfaces wherebyit is formed into a U about the batch and trailing portions of the upperand lower limbs of the U are then folded to form the blank into a tube.it is then necessary to fold the end flaps extending from theleading'and rear panels of the tube and hitherto this operation has beeneffected by separate devices.

A n object of the invention is to provide a single device comprising twoorgans which effect both of these folding operations, one organoperatingon one carton and the other on the succeeding carton. The single devicecan be constructed in a very compact manner, as will appear hereafter,and because of this and because the cartons may be moved along betweenthe said surfaces in abutting relationship the apparatus is simplifiedand shortened, the latter point being important because 9f the ar size oe c tons used t on n packets of cigarettes and the fact that thecomplete folding and sealing operations need to take place over threesuccessive cart ns and fu the sp ce s ne d d fo drying e fo d d fl pshein ntien wil e. o e fu y described w h etcrease t9 the accompanyin d a ns, in ic Figure 1 is a section l e evation o th appara u s me partsbeing broken away or sectioned and some omitted for clarity; 1 f

Figure 2 is a fragment of Figure 1 with the parts in a differentposition;

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3, Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a plan of the tucking and folding devices shown in Figure l;

Figure 5 is a plan of an outer blank.

Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 5, blanks ii are stacked in a magazine 2,each blank standing on the edge 3, Figure 5, with the inner surface ofthe blank, i.e. the

1 surface which will ultimately be the interior surface of the outer,facing the outlet of the magazine. As will be seen from Figure 1 theblanks stand almost vertically, being supported by a base plate 4 of themagazine and side guides 80 for controlling the sides of the blank. Theupper part of the blank stack is supported by a roller 81 freely mountedon a shaft 16 referred to below.

At the sides of the magazine are abutments 83 which ice engage theblanks near cut-out portions and past which the blanks need to be pulledduring feeding.

A sucker 5 is arranged to engage the leading blank near to its loweredge and pull it to enable the edge 3 to move pas-t a small ledge 6,whereafter the sucker swings outwards and upwards past a rotating feedroller 7 until it reaches the position shown in chain lines in Figure 2.The result of the sucker movement is to bring the front face of theblank into contact with the roller 7 whereupon a co-operating roller 8moves into contact with the rear face of the blank and the latter isforthwith fed downwards in a vertical path.

In order to assist the necessary forward movement of the stack of blankstowards the feeding position and generally to loosen the blanks so thatthey feed easily, the bottom of the magazine is provided with a jogglingdevice consisting of a pair of strip-like plates 9 supported on bearers10 which are in turn supported by shafts 11 which are eccentricallymounted so that as they rotate they give the plates 9 a movement whereinany point on a plate moves through a circle corresponding to theeccentric throw. Thus the blanks are joggled up and down and urgedforwards to the extent of this movement. The base plate 4 is slotted topermit the plates 9 to pass through it.

On the forward shaft 11 is a cam 12 which engages a follower 13 on a camrod 14, the upper end f he rod being pivoted to a lever 15 which ispivoted on a shaft 16. The lever 15 is rocked by the action of the cam12 in combination with that of a spring 15A. To the shaft 16 is attachedanother lever 17 which supports the sucker 5. The other end of the lever15 is pivoted to alink 18 whose lower end is pivoted to a lever 19 whichoscillates on a pivot 20. The free end of the lever 19 carries theco-operating feed roller 8.-

The sucker motion briefly outlined above is obtained by theswingingmovement due to the lever 17 in combination with movementsderived from other mechanism now to be described. To the lever 17 isattached a bracket 21 to which is pivoted one arm 22 of a bell-cranklever to whose other arm 23 the sucker is fixed. At the bend of thebell-crank there is pivoted a rod 24 which is urged upwards by a spring25 and downwards by a pivoted lever 26 which engages a roller 27 at thetop of the rod 24. The lever 26 is pivoted at 28 and oscil lated by acam 29 which engages a follower 30 on the lever. The operative. face ofthe lever 26 is curved as shown and may thus be regarded as a cam, thecurvature permitting the lever to engage the roller 27 in the desiredmanner as the roller itself shares the swinging movement of the lever17. r In the beginning of thesucker action; a rocking; movement of thesucker is caused by the movement of the bell-c ank lever 22-23., Itcauses the suekerto impart a fairly sharp bendtothebottom from themagazine the joggling motion feeds the remaining blanks forward and theledge 6 resists any tendency for the second blank to be pulled out bythe suction on the first.

The blank is fed downwards'in the manner indicated in Figure 2 acrossthe path of a group of packets marked 31. As shown, the packets aresuperimposed in two rows and there are in the apparatus being describedfive packets to each row making ten packets in all. This is the usualnumber when packets each hold twenty cigarettes but, of course, theapparatus can be made to pack any number of packets in any reasonablenumber of rows.

A pusher 32 which is moved to and fro by a lever 33 pushes the group ofpackets against the blank, the leading face of the group contacting thepanel 34, Figure 5,

of the blank. The blank is thus bent into U form as it moves between apair of rollers 35 and then between top and bottom plates 36 and 37 ofthe blank folding apparatus. During this movement the small flaps 46,Figure 5, are folded into contact with the end faces of the group butthe method will be described later. As soon as the group has reached theposition Where the group is marked 31A an ocillating tucker 38 pivotedat 39 moves up and folds the panel 40, Figure of the blank so that itlies in contact with the rear face of the group. Immediately afterwardsa top tucker 41 pivoted at 42 moves down and folds the larger panel 43,Figure 5, so that it overlies the panel 40. In this particular examplethese panels are not sealed together though, of course, they could be byapplying adhesive to either panel in any usual manner. However it hasbeen found more expedient to seal the panels in a separate machine.

While the top tucker is still holding the panel 43 in folded position,that is, overlying the panel 40 a pair of folders, one of which is shownat 44, and fixed on a shaft 45, have moved in the direction of the arrow44A to the position shown in Figure 1 and have bent the small flaps 47,Figure 5, so that each flap moves into contact with a side face of thegroup.

The folders 44 rotate with the shaft 45. The motion is so timed thatafter they have performed the folding of the flaps 47 the edges 48 ofthe folders are in such position (i.e. substantially vertical) that asthe next blank is fed and folded to the U form its flaps 46 are foldedas they contact the edges 48. The flaps 46 of the blank just describedhave, of course, already been folded in this manner.

As the partly finished carton in engagement with the tuckers 38 and 41is moved further to the left by the succeeding carton to the positionwhere the packets are marked 31B, the cover flaps 50, Figure 5,encounter fixed folders 59 which bend the flaps to the position shown inFigure 3 and then adhesive is applied to the lower face of the flaps.Adhesive is applied by an oscillating foot 53 which is pivoted at 54 andhas a roller 55 which engages a cam 56. A spring 57 pulls the lever tohold the roller 55 against the cam and the combined effects of cam andspring cause the foot 53 to move into a gum pot 58 and then out and upinto contact with the inner face of flap 50. Then folder plates 49 aremoved down to complete the folding of the flaps 50 and these fix theflaps 46 and 47 in position by adhering to them. Side plates mountedbelow the folders 60 prevent the folded flaps 46 and 47 from moving fromtheir folded position during the carton movement from the positionmarked 31A to the position marked 31B beneath the folder plates 49. Thevarious movable tuckers and folders are operated by the devices about tobe described with reference also to Figure 4.

i The tucker 38 is operated by a cam 61 engaging a roller 62 mounted onthe tucker arms 63, a spring 64 urging the roller 62 against the cam.

The tucker 41 is carried on an arm 65 and has a roller 66 at the endremote from the tucker. A plate 67 on an arm 68 pivoted at 69 presses onthe roller 66 when the arm 68 is appropriately moved on its pivot 69 bya cam lever 70 having a roller 71 which engages a cam 72. Springs 73urge the tucker 41 downwards for the tucking operation.

The folder plates 49 are also operated by the plate 67 in conjunctionwith springs 74. As seen in Figure 4 the plates 4? are fixed to levers75 pivoted at 76 and having rollers 77 at the end remote from theplates. The rollers are pressed by the plate 67 in the same manner asroller 66.

The pusher 32 is guided in its forward movement by a guide 78 over whichrides a roller 52 attached to the pusher. The downward dip of the guidepermits the pusher to pass between the rollers 35 and carry the group tothe position 31A. On the return movement the pusher roller 52 runs overa trap cam 51 to cause the pusher to be raised by movement about a pivot79 to permit a new group to be fed into position in front of the foldingdevices. On the forward stroke the roller 52 runs beneath the trap camwhich then swings on its pivot 82 in the usual way.

To promote an understanding of the invention, reference has been made tothe preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, and specific languagehas been employed to describe the same. It will nevertheless beappreciated that limitation of the scope of the invention is not therebyintended, such alterations and modifications of the illustratedstructure being contemplated as would normally occur to those skilled inthe art to which the invention relates.

What I claim as may invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In apparatus for packing a group of rectangular blockshaped articles incartons 'by folding a carton blank around a group of articles by movingsaid group through a predetermined path against a blank and thereafterinto folding devices which fold the blank into a U about the group asthe first stage of the folding operation, said carton blanks havingpanels for respective engagement with the leading and trailing faces ofthe group when the group is moved against the blank and the blank isfolded about the group, and having at each side of each of said panels alaterally extending flap adapted to be folded against the side faces ofthe group, a pair of folding members disposed at opposite sides of thepath' of movement of the groups, said members being pivoted on an axistransverse to said path for rotation from an inoperative position to aposition in proximity to the respective side faces of the advancinggroups to engage and fold forwardly against the side faces of a groupthe flaps adjacent the trailing face of such group, said members havingportions thereafter engaged by the flaps adjacent the forward face ofthe succeeding group as it advances to fold rearwardly the last namedflaps against the side faces of such succeeding group. 1

No references cited.

